A 77-year-old man who killed both his brothers over a dispute about the ownership of their home, which he then proceeded to burn down, was charged in the Marikina City Prosecutor’s Office with murder and arson on Saturday.
In a statement, the Eastern Police District (EPD) said the suspect, retired maintenance engineer Nilo Soriano, was arrested on Friday in Greenheights Subdivision at Barangay Concepcion Uno.
Suspect injured
He was later taken to Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center to be treated for third-degree burns.
According to the police, Soriano “mercilessly shot” his younger brothers, Felicito, a 72-year-old businessman, and Enrico, a 60-year-old lawyer, whose scorched remains were discovered by police operatives after firefighters had put out the flames.
According to the EPD, Soriano “threatened to kill his brothers due to a dispute in the ownership of their house” while the three were having breakfast on Friday.
Later in the day, stay-in housemaid Wilfreda Regonas saw the suspect take a gun and shoot his brothers repeatedly.
Suspect warns housemaid
“She tried to pacify [the suspect], but [Soriano] warned her not to intervene in family matters, which prompted her to leave the house,” the EPD said.
Regonas told the police that before she fled outside the house, she saw Soriano pouring gallons of gas on his dead brothers’ bodies.
The police received a call from the alarmed housemaid around 10:35 p.m. and arrested Soriano at his house on Peru Street.
The Marikina City Bureau of Fire Protection said it managed to put the fire out around 11:05 p.m.